NF-κB is a critical signaling molecule in the immune system that regulates cell survival and cell death, lymphocyte responses, and inflammation. Acting as a transcription factor that can receive several inputs, it coordinates distinct gene expression programs in response to a wide variety of stimuli.

Written and edited by experts in the field, this Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology collection includes contributions covering the structure of NF-κB, its DNA-binding activity and specificity, the role of the inhibitor I-κB, and canonical and alternative mechanisms of NF-κB activation. The contributors examine the physiological role of NF-κB in immune cells, as well as its functions in other tissues, such as the nervous system. They also discuss work indicating that NF-κB represents a critical link between inflammation and cancer.

Including clinical perspectives on the use of NF-κB inhibitors in cancer therapy and a historical introduction by David Baltimore, in whose lab NF-κB was discovered, this volume is a vital reference for cell and molecular biologists, immunologists, and pathologists interested in regulation of cell function.

Contents

Preface

Discovering NF-κB

David Baltimore

The NF-κB Family of Transcription Factors and Its Regulation

Andrea Oeckinghaus and Sankar Ghosh

Specification of DNA Binding Activity of NF-κB Proteins

Fengyi Wan and Michael J. Lenardo

A Structural Guide to Proteins of the NF-κB Signaling Module

Tom Huxford and Gourisankar Ghosh

The IKK Complex, a Central Regulator of NF-κB Activation

Alain Israël

Ubiquitination and Degradation of the Inhibitors of NF-κB

Naama Kanarek, Nir London, Ora Schueler-Furman, and Yinon Ben-Neriah

Signaling to NF-κB: Regulation by Ubiquitination

Ingrid E. Wertz and Vishva M. Dixit

Selectivity of the NF-κB Response

Ranjan Sen and Stephen T. Smale

Control of NF-κB-dependent Transcriptional Responses by Chromatin Organization